Sep 30, 2014

Professional Video Editor `Lightworks` v12 Available For Download

Lightworks, a professional video editing and mastering software, has reached version 12, this being the first release which gives the same experience on Linux, Windows and Mac OSX:

"The release of Lightworks version 12 marks a unique milestone in that for the first time, the same version runs on the Windows, Linux and Macintosh platforms - a unique achievement for a professional, fully featured NLE.

As a result of Lightworks' intelligent software architecture, new features and fixes for all three versions will be available virtually at the same time, barring operating system-specific issues"

The latest Lightworks 12 includes a new Content Manager structure, rewritten Lightworks Play engine for improved playback performance along with new Blur, Color Correction and Selective Color Correction effects and more.

Lightworks continues to be available as free to use however, the pro license prices increased with this release and a one month license now costs £14.99 | €19.99 | $24.99, a one year license is £99.99 | €134.99 | $174.99 and an Outright (doesn't expire, includes two activations) license is £249.99 | €337.99 | $437.99.

The difference between the free and paid (pro) version is that the free version allows exporting only to MPEG4/H.264 at up to 720p while the pro version has a much wider range of output options, includes advanced project sharing, 3D stereoscopic output, user-definable project locations, rendering and Hardware I/O support.

Changes in Lightworks 12:

Same experience on all three platforms;

Added new Content Manager structure:

Bins and Groups (previously racks) are now all visible within the content manager;

Multicam Bins (previously Sync groups) are now all visible within the content manager;

The Search function has been incorporated into the content manager (click the magnifying glass);

Added ability to create Filters based on search criteria and manage them;

Added the ability to drag/drop files from the OS directly into an open bin (cannot import to Filters);

Added the ability to import directly into an existing bin (cannot import to Filters);

And much more!

Optimised the drawing pipeline to create a much more responsive user interface;

Rewritten the Lightworks Play engine for improved playback performance;

Added improvements to the export panel to make it easier to select a format for export;

Added entirely new Blur effect to the Effects panel;

Added powerful new Colour Correction effect;

Added powerful new Selective Colour Correction effect;

Added import of Final Cut Pro 7 XMLs;

Added 4K support for ProRes formats (Blackmagic cameras).

Note: there are some known issues and limitations across all platforms. On Linux, Lightworks only supports Nvidia and ATI graphics (Lightworks strongly recommends using proprietary drivers or else the app might not work properly), there is no Firewire support, no Quicktime/MPEG4 export option, no .wmv support, audio may not be present on some uncompressed avi files and there are only 64bit deb and rpm files available for download, among others.

For a complete list of known issues as well as all the changes in Lightworks 12, check out the Lightworks 12 changelog PDF (see the release notes link; I can't link the PDF directly).

To get an idea on how Lightworks works, check out this Lightworks v12 quick start guide video: